I want U Bad
by PerfectPictureofanAngelsSmile
Summary: Calum and Ross are good friends, and when they decide to look for a birthday present for their friend Raini, Ross meets Calum's new girlfriend for the first time. Read to find out who she is and what happens! XxRaura
1. Chapter 1

Ross's eyebrows rose at the news. "She's coming?"

Calum asked. "Yeah, is that alright with you?"

"Yeah, no problem. I'll see you at 2." The phone call ended.

Ross waited around the fountain outside the mall. Today, they were going to try and buy something for their friend, Raini. Her birthday was coming up.

Ross had never met Calum's girlfriend before. He's mentioned her a couple of times and he's only seen her on the picture Calum had in his phone.

Soon, someone called his name, coming from a tall ginger. Ross nodded at him, and then, saw the girl behind Calum.

She was short- _much_ shorter than Calum- with long brown hair in curls and a middle part. The ends of her hair were highlighted caramel and she dressed in a cute and simple style that fit her petite figure.

She was already waving with both hands and big smile on her face as she greeted. "Hi Ross!" She chirped, her voice high, nasally, but cute. Ross had stood up from against the fountain, smiling.

"Oh, hey!" He said back. Did Calum tell her he was Ross? It was a safe assumption anyway. He took his hand out of his pocket.

Calum held a happy expression, standing between the two and gestured back and forth.

"This is Laura, Ross. Laura, Ross." He exchanged their names.

"Oh, I know that, Calum! Ross, it's so great to meet you! I'm Laura- well as Calum said. Aha." She said, dorkiness labeling her tone, holding out her hand as he shook it. A smile twitched on his lips, nodding. "Hi Laura, I'm Ross. Nice to meet you." She grinned up at him and turned to Calum. "Shall we get going?"

The three ventured into the mall, visiting different stores. "Hey you think Raini would like this?" Ross asked, holding up a shirt. He was guessing, not sure to get a girl clothing or not. He changed his mind, putting it back on the rack before getting feedback.

"Well I am getting her this," Calum said, holding a mug with a cute and quirky message and design on it.

"Haha, oh that's cute!" Laura commented, going to his side to look at it herself. She looked over at Ross and laughed, "Ross! Haha, I love that!"

Ross picked up colorful goofy glasses, putting them on. He laughed, facing his friends and Calum and Laura picked ones up for themselves, presenting themselves, sharing a laugh. "Hey, can we take a picture?" She suggested.

"Haha. Sure." Ross said. Laura got out her phone, holding out. Calum offered to hold it since he had longer arms, and the three got closer and grinned at the phone held up with their colorful glasses on. _Click! _Ross didn't say anything, though he wanted to joke about it, but he noted that Laura still had a flip phone.

Laura looked at the picture, satisfied with it.

"Hey guys, I'm going to go to the music store and get this CD of a band I know Raini likes." He nodded, stepping backward out of the store.

"Alright, just look for us in the food court when you're done." Calum said, raising a hand. Laura waved, turning back to Calum before Ross fully turned around to look for the music store.

_I know they're trying their best not to make me feel like a third wheel. But some things can't be helped. They're them._ Ross thought, shrugging when he found the music store. He went in, looking through the CD rack and stopped to grin. R5's album sat there. "Hey!" He noted out loud. He looked for the headphones where you could listen to some albums. When he found a free one, he found R5's album on there and pressed play. After jamming for a while, he took off the headphones. He hoped his band can slowly be more successful one day. Ross went back to looking for the CD for Raini.

At the food court, Ross found Calum in one of the lines. "Oh hey. Laura is sitting at one of the tables over there. Can you keep her company? I'll get you what you usually get." Calum said, pointing.

"Alright. Thanks, man."

Ross went over to the table, pulling a seat to sit down. Laura looked at him in small surprise and then smiled. "Hey. Get what you needed to get?"

"Yeah," Ross gave a smile, nodded and put his arms on the table, leaning forward.

"It seemed like you took a while. Did you get lost?" She asked.

"Nah, I just found my family band's album and listened to it for a while."

"A band? Oh right, Calum told me about that! You and your siblings are in a band aren't they? That's really cool, Ross." Laura said with her mouth in an 'o', turning in her seat to face him.

"Haha, yeah, it is. You should come over and listen to our practices some time. I mean- with Calum, I mean, whatever's cool." He stumbled his words a little, smiling and playing hand movements to brush it off. Laura laughed, nodding.

"Sure, it sounds fun! It's called… hm…?"

"R5." Ross answered.

"R5." She smiled. "How'd you come up with the name?"

"Well, my siblings and me- and a family friend, all our names start with an R. Except for Ellington Ratliff haha- the friend!" Ross started to engage in the conversation more to explain it to her, liking that she was asking. "See, there's 5 of us. The oldest is my brother, Riker. Then, there's my sister, Rydel, then Rocky and then, there's me! There's Ryland too, the younger brother, but he's our manager."

Laura watched him explain, his enthusiasm rubbing off onto her. "Wow, really? What instruments do you play?"

"Well, I play the guitar, piano and sometimes the drum, but I mostly do that and sing," He nodded, having a humble smile as he raised his shoulders a little. "See when you play the guitar and piano, it's so cool because the more you play it, it's like, the more you can start to visualize the piano keys on the guitar neck-" He was already positioning his hands like he was holding a guitar, sounding like it was a cool magic trick he's explained several times already.

Something was set on the table, taking both of their attention's away from Ross's hands. Calum set down their food, laughing a little. "You two are getting along!"

Ross stopped, letting his hands fall and awkwardly pressed his lips together, turning forward. "Yep! Haha."

"Calum! Hey, Ross was just telling me about his band R5." Laura said, pointing over while reaching for the food.

"Oh, yeah, we talked about that. R5 is like the best band, right?" Calum said.

"Haha, thanks!" Ross said, holding up a fist to fist bump with him. He reached for a bag for his burger in it, looking at his two friends while they started chatting. He avoided looking at Laura directly for some reason. _Come on Ross, what's going on with you?_

After about an hour, Calum and Laura went to drop Ross off at his house. "See you guys next week." He said, putting up a hand to wave as he backed away from the car.

"Bye," Laura's voice rung from the passenger seat, waving. Calum waved too.

"See you around!"

As Ross went up the driveway and into his house, the car drove away. When he entered the house, Riker and Rocky were on the couch while Rydel was in the kitchen. "I'm back."

"Hey, how'd it go?" Rocky asked, still messing the remote.

"How's it go? It went good, you know. I met Calum's girlfriend." Ross said with a shrug.

Riker called out, smiling, "Is she pretty?"

"Yeah, of course, haha." Ross responded. "But come on, she's Calum's girlfriend." He kept walking to the hallway to his bedroom. Rydel walked out the kitchen, looking at Ross's direction and exchanged looks with her brothers, knowing Riker was only joking.

In his room, Ross took off his shoes before plopping on his bed, and groaned, rolling onto his back. He grabbed the hat near his bed head and put it over his face.

He heard someone enter the room and took the hat off. "Hey Ross," His little brother, Ryland greeted when he saw him. Ross nodded.

"What's up?" He asked him.

"I'm gonna go for a swim." Ryland said. He was looking in the closet now for his swim trucks. "Do you wanna swim too?"

"Nah, I'm just going to sit around for a while. Maybe later." Ross said. He thought for a few minutes. "Have you ever met someone and just felt so relaxed around them and…" Ryland looked over his shoulder to see what he was talking about. Ross thought again. "Nevermind."

"Well… yeah. I think so. Why?" He said while unfolding the swim trunks.

"Nothing, nevermind." Ross said, giving a small laugh. He thought about going to Rydel or Riker instead for something like this. But he wasn't even sure what he felt any way.

"Huh. Alright. Well I'm gonna go change!" Ryland left the room.

Ross stared at the ceiling and smiled a little, a scoff following. "Wish I could see her again, though."

**Hi guys! Okay, big first Author's Note here. This is my first story of Austin and Ally, or well cough, Raura****, and the first story I've written to get out of my _long_ fore-going writer's block. I admit this isn't very detailed but I make a promise to make my stories after this one better. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Outside his house, Ross was skating around, thinking of taking off his shirt to skate anyway. He was going to until he saw someone walking done the sidewalk that surprised him.

"Laura?" He said, skating over to her.

"Hey Ross," She greeted with her usual smile.

"What are you doing here?" He failed to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Oh well, I decided to drop and maybe see if you were here! I wanted to see the band too— I mean, if they're home— I'm not intruding am I?" She asked, her suddenly serious, pointing to the house with both hands.

Ross laughed, shaking his head. "No. You're not even in the house yet. Come in, they're all home too." He hopped off the skateboard, picking it up and bringing it with him as he walked by Laura to the front step. He set the skateboard down and opened the door, letting Laura come in with him. "Mom?" He called. He went to the kitchen where a lady with blonde hair stood there, making lunch.

"Hey Mom! This is Laura, Calum's girlfriend. Laura, this is Stormie Lynch, the best mom in the world." He introduced, barely feeling awkward when he introduced her as Calum's girlfriend than 'my friend'. But he knew he had to.

"Aw, hi, it's nice to meet you." Laura said, holding out her hand.

"Hello! So you're Calum's girlfriend? Aw, you're so pretty!"

"Aw, you're so sweet! Thank you," Laura grinned. Stormie looked over at Ross and raised her eyebrows a little. Ross who was grinning, made a little awkward expression change, doing a small hand movement as a 'no, no.' that only his mom could see.

"The boys are in the living room." Stormie said. It didn't need to be said though. Riker and Rocky already stood up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen.

"Hello! Who's this?" Riker said, looking delighted.

"Hi, I'm Laura, Ross's friend and Calum's girlfriend." She introduced.

"Oh, we've heard about you!" Riker said. He grinned, holding out his hand. "Great to meet you."

"You have?" Laura smiled confused but pleased. "And thank you, it's great to meet you too!" She continued to Rocky, shaking his hand too. "I heard you guys had a band? I just came by wondering if I could hear a little of you guys perform."

A door opened and closed, from the back. Rydel came in her, hair in a ponytail but wet and sunglasses on her head. She wore a light pink bikini with a colorful towel draped over her shoulders and spotted Laura. "Oh, hey! Hm, are you Ross's friend?"

"Ah, yes! I'm Laura." Laura said, Riker and Rocky making way for Laura to pass through. "And you… no let me guess, I know this… Rydel!"

"Haha, that's right!" Rydel cheered, holding out her hand. "I'd hug you really, but I'm still wet from the pool haha." They shook hands and Ross smiled a little.

"Soo… Laura wants to hear us play. How about just a quick acoustic demo of our songs with the guitars?"

"Ah…sure, I'd love that!" Laura gasped. Riker smiled and waved his hand over. They went to the living room where Laura took a seat and the boys went M.I.A for a minute. They came back with guitars and bass in their hands. Rydel had a keyboard out and ready. Someone walked in the living room with short brown hair.

"Ratliff! Just in time," Rydel said, tossing a small object that looked like an apple to him. It turns out it's actually a percussion instrument.

"What's going on? A sudden acoustic session?" Ratliff said.

Laura turned around. "Just something for our new little friend here," Stormie said, smiling as she stood by the wall to watch.

"Hi, I'm Laura." Laura said standing up.

"Oh, _Laura_!" Ratliff went up to her and took her hand, bowing instead of shaking it. "Enchanted." He smiled at her and Laura laughed.

When everything was set up, Rocky said, "This is a song called Fallin' For You."

Laura smiled wide, and sat up, anticipating. Rocky counted, and they started strumming with Ratliff giving a beat with the apple.

_"You like mismatched socks with polka dots_

_You like your pizza cold; I think that's hot." _Laura giggled at this.

_"You like to swim at night when the moon is full_

_You think that makes you strange; I think that's cool_

_And you say you're scared_

_That I won't be there_

_Baby, I swear,"_

Ross started his part, _"I'm not going anywhere,_

_You can change your hair_

_Five times a week_

_You can change your name_

_Get a little bit crazy_

_You can dance in the rain_

_Rockin' secondhand chic_

_But I live for the day_

_That I'm calling you baby_

_'Cause I'm falling for you_

_For everything that you do_

_Baby, I'm falling for you_

_You might be crazy_

_But baby,_

_I'm falling for you."_ Ross eyes were on Laura as she watched and listened with twinkling eyes. When she looked at him, he smiled while Riker and Rydel sang.

"_And you say, you're scared_

_That I won't be there_

_Baby, I swear_," …

After the song ended, Laura clapped, cheering loudly. "I loved it so much! That is definitely my new favorite song."

"Well, Laura, you're more than welcome to have lunch with us." Stormie said.

"Oh no, I couldn't just…"

"I insist."

"Well… okay." She gave in and Ross tried not to smile.

**1 hour later…**

"Well, I have to get back now."

"How did you even get here?"

"I walked? I live a few blocks down, actually."

"Oh?" Ross blinked.

"Yeah… it was real nice hanging with you and your family though." Laura said.

Ross nodded. He was smiling a moment ago, but he remembered something. She was Calum's girl. How did he almost forget that?_ Okay. _  
Laura smiled at the floor and turned, and Ross walked behind her.

"I'll walk you there." Ross said.  
"Huh? Oh no you don't have to." Laura said with big eyes.  
"A guy shouldn't let a girl walk by herself anyway. It's just a couple blocks down." He pressed. She stared at him and smiled a little, nodding. Ross opened the door for her and followed her out.

"This is where you live?" They stopped in front of a one story house.  
"Yup. Me, my parents and my sis_ter_." She articulated. They looked at each other. "So I guess I better get going," She said, pointing towards her house, starting to step backwards. Being the awkward girl she was, she stepped into a crack in the sidewalk and slipped. Almost. "Oops." She laughed at herself and flushed. Ross's hand moved to help her in case she needed it but pulled it back when she caught her balance.  
"Careful, haha." He smiled amused. She grinned a little embarassed.  
"I'll see you around?"  
He smiled. "Of course, we live in the same neighborhood don't we?"  
"Yeah, isn't that weird? I didn't know until Calum dropped you off yesterday." She said. Then, she flashed a smile at him. "Thanks for today, Ross."  
Ross stared at her and smiled back. "Yeah. I'll see you." He nodded, turning and put his hands in his pockets as he started walking. After a few seconds, she called him.  
"Ross!"  
He looked over his shoulder. She almost to her front steps now. "Calum trusts you, you know." She doesn't say it in an accusing way but in a positive factual way. "Don't worry. He trusts you." Then, she smiled and turned, going into her house and closed the door.

_What's that supposed to mean?_ Ross glanced at the sidewalk and started walking again.

* * *

**A/N: Please look at this if you want to see the gifs I included in the chapters ^^ tappioni tumblr slash ****writings **

**scroll down to "I want u bad" **


	3. Chapter 3

At the basketball court, Ross and Calum were shooting hoops. After a while, they went to sit on the benches, catching their breaths and drinking water. "Hey Calum?"  
"Yeah?" He finished drinking from a bottle of water.  
"About Laura… you don't have the wrong idea about anything, do you?" Ross asked with a worried face.  
Calum licked his lips and shook his head, turning his head at him. "No. I don't. I can understand Laura is easy to talk to, and a likeable person. Plus, I trust you, Ross. You're my best friend."  
Ross pressed his lips together, looking at the ground, nodding a little. Then he put out his hand to do his regular handshake with him. "Yeah… thanks, Calum." He grabbed the basketball, jumping up to shoot again.

* * *

Ross scratched the side of his head. It's been almost a week since he's seen her. And now he found himself walking on the sidewalk, just a house away from her's. "What am I even going to say?" He stopped in front of the house, taking a deep breath. "What am I doing?" He walked up the front steps, scratching his head again. "Hi Laura, what's up?" He practiced to himself. He shook his head, rubbing his neck. He lifted his hand to knock and stopped, listening. A piano was playing and someone was singing.

_"I wear no disguise, but you don't see me  
I'm a total surprise and you don't see me  
I'm so agonized, that you don't see me  
You don't see me…"_

Ross knocked and the piano stopped playing. After the sound of a few footsteps, the door opened revealing a surprised Laura. "Ross!"

"Was that you singing?" He asked, not knowing he was smiling.

"Oh! You heard that?" She blushed a little. "Haha weell… oh, come in!" She stepped aside to let him come in. She closed the door and the two walked into the living room, where there was a piano in the corner of it. "I write a few songs now and then for fun for me," Laura explained, a little embarrassed.  
"That's really cool. I didn't know you could sing." Ross said with surprise, the corners of his lips turned up. Laura smiled, crossing her arms.  
"So what brings you here?"  
"Hm, just dropping by." He shrugged and smiled at her. He walked over to the piano, leaning over the side of it to see the keys and the music sheet book in front of them. "Can I hear another one of your songs?" He asked, holding his hands out together.

"Oh! Um…sure," She said, sauntering over to take a seat on the piano bench. Ross leaned against the side of the piano as Laura flipped a few pages, looking for a song to play. When she found one, she put her hands on the piano and started playing as she sang.

_"Yeah I'm caught in between  
Where I'm going and where I've been  
But I know there's no turning back  
Yeah_

It's like I'm balanced on the edge  
It's like I'm hanging by a thread  
But I'm still gonna push ahead  
So I tell myself  
Yeah I tell myself  
Don't look down down down down  
Don't look down down down down  
Don't look down down down down

_Don't look down down down down…"_ Laura smoothly ended it and Ross was clapping, nodding. "That was really awesome, Laura!"

A grin spread on her face. "Thank you, Ross. It's called Don't Look Down."  
"Well I'd love to hear more songs from you. You're an amazing singer."  
Laura smiled wider, her cheeks a little pink and stood up. "Do you want to walk around in the park for a while?"  
"Sure."

—

"What do you call an Owl's Beak?" Ross asked. The two were sitting on the park bench in the park.  
"What?"  
"Who _knows_."  
Laura ended up cracking up, laughing more than Ross thought she would. For the last half hour, they've been chatting about their passion for music and just about to each other and were making jokes now because he found out Laura laughs easily.  
"What do you call a Laura?" He asked.  
"What?" Laura asked, still laughing.  
"A Dork."

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"Kidding!" He defended, putting his hands up. Laura tilted her head and laughed. The two looked around the park, where the grass and trees were really green and people were jogging by and kids running around.

"I guess I should head back now." Laura said, standing up.  
"I'll walk back with you." Ross said. He put his hands in his pockets, walking side by side with as they followed the way back to their neighborhood.

Laura shook her head, smiling. "It's funny. We've lived in the same neighborhood and both knew Calum but never met each other until recently."  
"It is funny! But hey, now we know each other. Now we can hang out," Ross hoped his cut off at the end wasn't too obvious and fixed his bangs with his hand.

When they got to her house, Laura turned around. "I had a lot of fun today, Ross. Do you think maybe you have time tomorrow to come by again? There's a song I was writing and if I finish it tonight, I want you to hear it." She said, smiling, both of them locking eyes directly.  
"Oh really? Sure, I'll come by." Ross said, his lips curling into a smile again. Laura smiled, and Ross couldn't help but stare at how her eyes were so big and twinkled when they did. She was stepping backwards now and turned around as she headed to to front door. She waved once more at him with one hand as she walked and he waved back, flashing a smile and started turning too. When he looked back to see her front door close and her gone, he pumped his fist, making a jump in his walk out of his excitement. His heart was pounding and something about today made him really happy. The goofy grin stayed until he got home where Riker and Rydel were questioning it to themselves and each other, smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

Ross should've asked what time. So he came back the same time as yesterday, lingering in front of her front door. He rubbed the back of his neck, a little nervous. Then, he rang the doorbell.

After a few apprehensive seconds, the anxiety melted away when the door opened, revealing a sunny Laura again. "Hey Laura," He greeted casually.  
"Ross! Okay, I _just_ finished this morning. So come in, I want you to listen!" She urged, stepping to the side so he could come in and closed the door. On his way to the living room, his eyes looked around the place, seeing the picture frames and comfy furniture.

Laura went to the piano, picking up the song book laid down on it and opened it to where a ribbon was. She scanned her eyes over it and then held it a little higher to Ross who went next to her to read it. "This is the song I was working on. Does it look okay?"  
Ross looked over the music notes and lyrics briefly and sang out loud, "If you wanna cry, I'll be your shoulder, If you wanna laugh, I'll be your smile." He read the rest of the lyrics silently. "It's really good."

"It's just this last part of the chorus, I don't know what to put as a finishing line." She mumbled.  
"Hm." Ross said, sitting down on the piano bench. He looked at the song book page again that Laura set down in front of him. "How about," He played the notes on the piano and sang, "If you want a friend," He paused to think about it. Laura sat next to him, looking at the music sheet again.

"If you want a friend," She sang, playing. "Doesn't matter when," She sang ahead. "Anything you need, that's what I'll be." She kept her fingers on the piano keys and smiled at the music sheet and then Ross. "Hey that fits perfect. Good job Ross, thank you." She turned her head to him and beamed. He blinked and smiled.

"So let's hear the whole song now."  
"Oh." She raised her eyebrows. She subtly glanced at him, seeing how he was sitting right beside her on the piano bench. She smiled a little and lightly placed her hands on the piano and started singing the whole song.

When she finished, she looked over the lyrics again and made an approving face. Ross looked at the sheet and noticed something written in the corner. "Hey, what's this?" He smiled, taking the song book in his hand and pointed to the word "DUET" in the corner.  
Laura blushed a little. "Well, that's the thing. This song is actually supposed to be a duet…"  
"Oh?" His tone deflated a little. "For who?"  
"Um… for you and me actually."  
Ross was surprised and looked at the lyrics again.  
"I mean, I needed someone to sing it with me, but then I met you and wondered if you could sing it with me." She corrected, trying to hide her blush. After a few seconds, Ross chuckled and nodded. "Sure." He put his hands on the piano and started playing with her.

_"When you're on your own  
Drowning Alone  
And you need a rope that can pull you in  
Someone will throw it,"_

_Ross's eyes were on the music sheet and sang, "And when you're afraid that you're gonna break  
And you need a way to feel strong again  
Someone will know it," _

Laura opened her mouth to sing along and Ross's eyes peeked at her from the corner of his eye, hearing how their voices harmonized together.

_"And even when it hurts the most_  
_Try to have a little hope_  
_That someone's gonna be there when you don't…"  
_  
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Ross's hand touched with Laura's and they both slowed a little and looked at each other.

"Um," Laura smiled a little, not pulling her eyes away. She pressed a chord with one hand.

"If you wanna cry, I'll be your shoulder," She sang.  
"If you wanna laugh, I'll be your smile," He sang after.  
"If you wanna fly, I will be your sky, anything you need that's what I'll be," They started singing together quietly, going back to playing the notes on the piano.

_"If you wanna climb, I'll be your ladder  
If you wanna run I'll be your road  
If you want a friend  
Doesn't matter when  
Anything you need that's what I'll be_  
_You can come to me,"_

Ross continued playing the notes as Laura turned her head at him. _"You can come to me_  
_Yeah"_

Ross stared at her, his lips parting. Then, the front door opened. The two sat up straight, Ross even getting up from the piano bench, clearing his throat as his hand went up to his hair.

A girl, looking like Laura but older, entered the room with a large purse bag in her hand. "Hey Laura I'm hom- Oh, hello! Who's this?" She smiled. She had darker hair than Laura. Laura stood up from the piano, making her way to her.

"Hey Vanessa, this is Ross. The one who lives in the neighborhood." Laura said.  
Ross made a little smile, stepping forward and held out his hand. "Hey I'm Ross! I'm Calum's friend."  
"Hey Ross," Vanessa said, eyebrows rose a little. "I'm Vanessa, Laura's older sister. Calum's friend?"

"Ah- yeah, Laura just showed me this really cool song she wrote. She's an awesome song writer!" Ross praised with a grin.  
Vanessa raised her chin, nodding with her eyebrows still rose. Ross felt the tension. Laura bit her lip. "Yeah, Laur's like that, always writing in her songbook." She paused and took a closer look at Ross. "Say, you look familiar. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Yeah, I have 3 brothers and one sister. Riker, Rydel, Rocky and Ryland." Ross explained.  
"OH!" Vanessa gasped. "You're from the band, R5! Way cool."

Laura rolled her eyes up and leaned towards Vanessa. "Vanessa don't act dumb, you know I told you I went to Ross's place last week to listen to R5 play."

Vanessa laughed. "Yeah, I'm sorry. Will you be coming by often, Ross?" She asked, setting down her bag on the couch.

"Ahh, I don't know." Ross stretched with a shrug. "I might be more busy lately making new songs. We have rehearsal this afternoon too so I guess I gotta go. It was nice meeting you Vanessa!" He smiled. "Bye Laura," He waved at her and walked his way to the front door.

Once he was gone, Vanessa turned her head to Laura and gave a look. Laura sighed, shaking her head. "No, Vanessa."

"Whatever you say, girly," Vanessa said, going past her to go to her bedroom. She stopped before going into the hallway to look over her shoulder. "He's really cute though." She grinned when Laura gave a small smile and left.


	5. Chapter 5

It was two weeks later that Raini's cousin was having a quincinera in town and Raini wanted Calum, Laura and Ross to be there with her.

So it was that night, everyone dressed up and arrived, dancing and mingling. Ross and Laura talked only a few times with small chat but mingled away from each other. Calum and Laura were mostly together, always chatting. Ross tried talking with some of the girls there too. He'd look over and see Calum with his hand on Laura's shoulder or around her waist and he'd look away. When slow songs began, they got together and danced. Ross sat in the seats, drinking some punch.

After a while, Calum went up to him. "Hey buddy, you don't look like you're having fun."  
"Oh, I am!" Ross insisted. He grinned wide. "It's awesome. I danced with Raini too so."  
Calum looked over his shoulder and sighed. "I'm sorry man, I know me being with Laura probably makes you feel a little awkward. How about you dance with Laura? I don't mind."

"Wait- what?" Ross sat up a little, tense.  
"You don't want to?" Calum looked confused and wondering to take offense.  
"Oh, no man I mean like she's your girlfriend and…"

"Come on. Maybe she can lighten your mood." He called for Laura to come over and she came by. "Why don't you guys dance? I'll just talk to Raini while you guys do."

Laura's mouth opened, stammering a little, "Dance with Ross?"

"I'm not that bad of a dancer," Ross half grinned. Laura looked at him and laughed.  
"No, I bet not." She looked at Calum once more who nodded approvingly. "Come on Ross, let's dance." She held out her arm and Ross laughed, hooking her arm with her friendly, mouthing thanks to Calum.

Once they got to the dance floor, the song that was dance and techno changed to slow and they both froze a little. Ross looked down at her and smiled a bit and then took the time to note how pretty she was tonight. Her hair was more curled and part of it pulled back, and her lilac dress was beautiful.

He held out his hand and Laura looked at it slowly and then smiled, putting her hand into his. They positioned themselves and started slow dancing together.

Calum on the side watched and Raini was next to him. "Are you sure you're okay with that?" Raini asked, a little concern.

"Yeah- Yeah- I mean, it's Ross. I can trust him. And Laura." He said. But he watched them and saw how Laura smiled. He didn't even feel jealous. It was a different feeling. More sad.  
Raini frowned a little._ I know Ross is his best friend, but Ross is also quite a lady's man. But I know he wouldn't flirt with Calum's girlfriend. And Laura is really sweet. But something about those two together is really… different from Calum and Laura._

****

CIc32fH18c6ZuSnAYrx3HnOzp6LmmYw7CXc8vsFLl8xDbDSZo3 dt8k75Tev2KwD3_E4emY3u1nShg7iWpkk4ZPf9PwFZGLLw6AsL c7r4ONIUlnUGPnCAZHp6Tg

"This isn't weird or anything?" Ross asked as they swayed. Laura smiled, shaking her head.  
"No, it's just two friends dancing right?"  
"Right." Ross smiled. Then as he turned Laura and brought her back, he held her against him, and even if it was for a short second, it felt right to have her in his arms. Close to the song ending, Laura's smile lessened a little. "Ross…"  
He stared at her. "You're Calum's girlfriend. I'm not going to do anything." He assured sincerely.  
"I know… but-"  
"But?" He blinked, puzzled. She looked up at him in the eye, her eyebrows furrowing.  
"This…" She faltered and kept eye contact for a while.  
He slowed, his lips parting. His eyes went to her lips and then he backed away a little, their arms still connected. He ignored his heart racing and the heat going to his cheeks. Then he let go of her arms but held onto one of her hands. He gave a big smile. "Thanks Laura. For the night. I guess I need to go early, so don't be mad.I'll see you another time." He squeezed her hand a little. "Have a good night, Laura." Then he let go and walked towards Calum and Raini. The two looked puzzled as well.

"I need to go early, I'll see you guys later!" Ross said and headed to the exit. Laura joined Calum soon.

"What happened?" Raini asked.  
Laura was quiet at first and then shook her head, smiling. "No, he just said he had to leave early so he apologized." Calum looked at her and she looked back at him and smiled. He gave a smile back and hugged her to his side and looked towards the exit.


	6. Chapter 6

Back at the house, Ross laid in his bed with his hat covering his face. Riker came in, surprising Ross a little. "What's up?" Riker said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "What?" Ross said.  
"You know what." Riker said, giving him a knowing eye. "About you and miss Lauraa."  
"Man, it's nothing." Ross said, putting the hat back on his face.  
"Doesn't seem like nothing." Riker said. Then, he sighed, looking at the ceiling, knowing he wasn't going to say anything. "But, I'm here, and mom, and Rydel, if you need some help."

After a few minutes, Ross sat up, messing with his hair. "It's so crazy. Laura's my best friend's girl and I'm here all…" He went quiet. His eyes were on the bed.

"I can't do this to Calum, but Laura… Laura is just something else. When I'm with her, I just can't help but smile around her. I can't stop smiling. And she's so incredible, and talented, and _beautiful_." He explained. Riker listened, nodding. Ross sighed, leaning back against the wall and lightly hit his head back. "I'll probably go crazy. I don't know what to do. I want her… so bad." He lightly groaned, closing his eyes.

Riker looked at his brother. "Like…?" And Ross gave him a smart look.  
"I want her to be_ mine_…"  
Riker gave a little smile. "But you can't have her?"

Ross's eyes went to the ceiling, shaking his head, bring his knees up and hand to his bangs again. Riker thought for a moment and then got up. He picked up Ross's guitar and handed it to him. Ross, big eyed, held the guitar and looked at his older brother. Then, Riker nodded and Ross pressed his lips together, trying one chord.

—

A few days later, in the garage, Rocky and Riker found Ross with his guitar, trying out a few lyrics and notes. Rocky nodded his head. "That's pretty good, Ross." And being the musical genius, he helped Ross with it. By the end of the day, they roughly had a first verse and chorus.

Rydel, Ratliff and Stormie had a hear of it too. "Hey this is pretty good!" Rydel said. The R5 family worked together to complete the song and in about 2 weeks, they got it down. The instruments, back vocals, lyrics, and percussion.

"Alright, let's practice this." Riker said. The band started.

It's a month later, halfway into August. R5 are holding a small acoustic concert in the national park.

Ross met with Laura and Calum and hung out with them a couple times. He even visited Laura again twice to hear her songs and play the piano with her, but he limited that time.

Now the concert was starting and R5 walked onto the stage, where a big interested crowd stood around them, screaming and jumping around. "Hey, what's up everyone!" Riker yelled and recieved many screams in return, despite it just being in the park.

They started with Falling For You and went on to other songs. They loved seeing everyone enjoying their music. Towards the end, Rocky talked into the mic, "Alright, here's a new song we just recently made. The official release doesn't come out till our next album so you guys here are lucky to be the first to hear it. One of us here were also the main contributors to making of the song." He grinned when the people in the audience seemed intrigued. Ross acted normal, getting a bottle of water from the back. "Have you ever wanted someone but just can't have them for reasons? Huh, well, hope you enjoy this one. It's called, I want u bad." The crowd cheered in anticipation.

Ross went back to his spot with an acoustic guitar and waited for a counting and the music to start. It was then he recognized two people in the back of the crowd by a tree, chilling. He should've known they'd be here to support him always, but at the same time…

He started playing.

_"In the back of a taxi cab,_

_Just one turn and it happened fast,_

_We touched hands and we pulled them back, yeah,_

_I want you bad_

_And even though it should be so wrong,_

_I can't help but feel this strong,_

_The way you turn me on Like a light switch_

_I might just go crazy,_

_'Cause you're my best friend's baby,_

_But you got me thinking maybe, just maybe,_

_I don't know what to do_

_I'm in love with someone else's girl_

_You rock my world,_

_But you're the one that I can't have,_

_Girl, I want you bad_

_In my crazy mind_

_I'm with you all the time,_

_Cause you're the best I never had,_

_Oh girl, I want you bad_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh,_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh,_

_I want you bad_

_So hard to just pretend._

_It sucks, you're his girl and he's my friend,_

_No good way for this to end, yeah,_

_I want you bad_

_I wish someone could help me,_

_This is just so unhealthy_

_And everything you got just kills me,_

_Got me guilty_

_Go crazy_

_'Cause you're my best friend's baby,_

_But you got me thinking maybe, just maybe,_

_I don't know what to do_

_I'm in love with someone else's girl,_

_You rock my world,_

_But you're the one that I can't have,_

_Girl, I want you bad_

_In my crazy mind_

_I'm with you all the time,_

_Cause you're the best I never had,_

_Oh, girl I want you bad_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh,_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh,_

_I want you bad_

_I want you, I want you, (Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,)_

_I want you, I want you, (Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,)_

_I want you, I want you, (Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,)_

_I want you bad_

_(I want you bad)_

_I want you, I want you, (Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,)_

_I want you, I want you, (Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,)_

_I want you, I want you, (Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,)_

_I want you_

_I might just go crazy_

_'Cause you're my best friend's baby,_

_But you got me thinking maybe, just maybe,_

_I don't know what to do_

_I'm in love with someone else's girl,_

_You rock my world,_

_But you're the one that I can't have,_

_Girl, I want you bad_

_In my crazy mind_

_I'm with you all the time,_

_'Cause you're the best I never had,_

_Oh, girl, I want you bad_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, (want you bad)_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, (yeah)_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh,_

_I want you bad_

_Ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh,_

_Ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh_

_Oh, girl, I want you bad"_

Ross watched Laura smile, nodding her head and listening to the song but slowly listen to the meaning it. He also watched Calum listening while sitting against the tree but he couldn't look at his friend too long. So instead, as he sang, his eyes stayed on Laura's almost the whole time. _So hard to just pretend. It sucks, you're his girl and he's my friend, No good way for this to end, yeah, I want you bad._

The song and concert ended, and R5 said their huge thank yous to the crowd. After an hour of cleaning up, Ross caught sight of Calum with Laura before leaving. He knew they had to talk.


	7. Final

"Calum," Ross said. Calum shrugged, turning his back to him. Ross felt a bomb of guilt drop inside him and made a face. "I'm really sorry… I didn't mean anything. It's just a song. Laura's yours. I'm not going to do anything, I promise."

Calum was shaking his head a little and turned around, sitting on the chair. "It's not just a song, Ross." He said. The thing about Calum was he said in a way to convince Ross himself. He looked up at his friend and half smiled. "You like Laura. And … she likes you too."

**NI1bFuvHNLZDgzlt_t2xJ6GGqXiKtxXMKHoQJstLYDhrfjq_f8 UnetkmsI6hPkYluJE2soikcjiTO9v5H7fRqhf45LoaO3gZRqWf WmKrUIiVwhh-BvdJrcRytA**

"Don't you see, Ross? She's different with you. She shines more. When you two are together, everyone can see it but you two." Calum stood up, pressing his lips together as he breathed in and out with his hands together. "Which is why I'm letting her go."

"What?!" Ross jumped forward, shocked.

Calum shrugged.

"But why would you-?"  
"It's probably the best." He said. "And I don't think I could stay longer with her anyway since it's like this."

Ross sat down. "This is the exact complications I didn't want."

"Look, it couldn't be helped anyway. You guys met because of me. And you would've met anyway one day since you lived in the same neighborhood. It's just you who should've met her first." They didn't say anything. "But, you're still my best friend Ross. But I think I'll need a little time by my own for a while. I'll see you." He left and Ross couldn't believe he screwed everything up.

—

"I think about you… every morning when I open my eyes, I think about you every evening when I turn out the lights." Vanessa says out loud, reading. She looked at her sister, smiling, "Aw. Is this about Calum?"

Laura kept her grin but lowered her eyes a little, playing with her hands. "Well… that's the thing."

Vanessa's eyes widened, lowering the song book. "Laura…" She said, comprehending and already knew.

"I'm the worst, aren't I." Laura said, sitting down and Vanessa went to sit next to her. She put her hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, let's get this sorted."

"No, no…" She started. "Calum and I already split. We're still friends, but we're not a couple anymore since yesterday."

"Was it because of?" Vanessa's eyes widened.

Laura shook her head and put her hands up in defeat. "I really blew it, didn't I?"

Vanessa looked down and then patted her sister, facing her. "You can't control your feelings, and you can't control who you fall for. For now, you just have to let things simmer and find out what you want to do next."

Laura looked at her and nodded slowly.

—-

Ross was in the backyard, playing the guitar with the chords to _I want you bad_. "This is just so unhealthy, and everything you got just kills me, going guilty," He sang. The backyard door opened and he looked up to see his sister, Rydel.

"Hey, how's it going?" She said.  
Ross settled the guitar in his lap and looked out at the pool. "Calum's not talking to me yet. And I haven't even seen Laura in days." He lifted his hand in a frustrated motion, turning his head to his sister. "What was supposed to happen? That they break up and Laura goes with me immediately after?"

Rydel pursed her lips, slowly sitting down in the chair beside as she said, "Well maybe not immediately,"

Ross gave an unsatisfied eye roll and was mindlessly ringing a few strings with a small melody. Rydel spoke up again, "It takes time, Ross. But Calum is still going to be your friend, and you're still going to be here not saying anything to Laura about how you feel."

Ross raised his eyebrows at her. _But I still feel so guilty_. Calum said she liked him, but was it true? He doesn't even know how she handled the break up. And if he avoided her too long, it would become awkward. "So what do I do?"

"You be honest and go for what your heart wants"

Ross gave a light-hearded scoff laugh at the advice and nodded. "Thanks Rydel." She smiled and got up, messing with his hair on her way to the door and disappeared. Ross blew out a deep breath and nodded. "Alright."

* * *

**GUYS! Alright, so this rough first story that's slowly getting me out of my writer's block is finished. But there will be a sequel, and I promise it'll be written better than this was. Can any of you guess the title? Hint, it's an R5 song. I'll have it up as soon as I make the first chapter!**


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